Da's on a Diet!

Orla K

This doesn't happen very often but he's trying to eat healthy but he really hasn't a clue. Theresa on the other has knows a little but would be one of those people where fat is bad, she's avoiding most bread(except for brown pitta bread in the evening) potatos even rice. The thing is she doesn't know what to eat or how to prepare it, they're a meat, potatoes(extra for the men) and veg kinda family.

I think two things have propted this new diet(and it does seem to be viewed as a short term thing sadly) the first one is a minor thing the second is something much more important. First off when they were on holiday I was minding their dog, I brought her to the vet nurse who told me she was obese, she went on a diet and lost about 0.5kg while they were away they kept up her knew diet and, with me going to the gym and the dog on a diet there was a bit of a healthy attitude to things.
The second thing to happen has been my father going to the doctor, he already had high blood pressure but now his cholestrol is too high, it's really not good, it runs in my family and I remember years ago my granny having a tripple bypass.

Them being not of the internet generation (seriously if you gave my father a laptop he'd just push random buttons until something happened) I was going to print out a few threads that would be helpful to them, the nutrition 101 and the definitive guide to saturated fat are on my list to be printed, I'm going to have a look at Transforms website and marks daily apple and see what I can print off.
I said I'd print off a few recipes for them too but I kinda make it up as I go along I have one I was going to print some recipes from (I never do any of the recipes myself but just get ideas from it)

The main thing is, are there any other threads that would be useful to print off or any other other information out there about lowering cholestrol.

I should add he also has stomach problems, something about bacteria or an ulcer. If that can be helped too then great!


I've already said to them not to buy anything with more then 5 ingredients but there's two fussy teens in the house too.
I'm actually excited about this, I just hope they read the things.

El_Dangeroso

That's great OrlaK! Well done on trying to help out your dad. People can get set in their ways and find it hard to change when they get older.

It's not a problem that he likes plain food. Meat, potatoes and veg are healthy!

I think he's going to have more trouble with other meals like lunch. If you can get him into the habit of eating a good protein source like eggs for breakfast and maybe meat and vegetables for lunch then that would be a great basis.

Re: blood pressure, does he like beetroot? It has nitrates that have been clinically proven to improve heart health. They are in season at the moment too.

I think it would help to give him a big list of things to eat so he knows what he can eat once you've told him what he can't. Give advice in increments, as subtle changes are more likely to be consistent changes and that's what makes most of the difference long term.

Orla K

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

That's great OrlaK! Well done on trying to help out your dad. People can get set in their ways and find it hard to change when they get older.

It's not a problem that he likes plain food. Meat, potatoes and veg are healthy!

I think he's going to have more trouble with other meals like lunch. If you can get him into the habit of eating a good protein source like eggs for breakfast and maybe meat and vegetables for lunch then that would be a great basis.

Re: blood pressure, does he like beetroot? It has nitrates that have been clinically proven to improve heart health. They are in season at the moment too.

I think it would help to give him a big list of things to eat so he knows what he can eat once you've told him what he can't. Give advice in increments, as subtle changes are more likely to be consistent changes and that's what makes most of the difference long term.

I think he does like beetroot but I've only ever seen him eating the pickled kind, I'm just thinking he's a man that ate a jar of mustard with a spoon that was two years out of date he'll eat beetroot.

About the dinner to be fair it's not really the meat, potatoes and veg. It's the lashings of salt/gravy/stuffing if there is some, along with a crap load of potatoes. The salt really annoies me because he never tastes food before he puts it on and he does lash it on.

I don't know too much about his diet other than dinner(from the odd time I'd call over and they were cooking/eating it) but he's a typical 50 something year old builder, two and half spoons of sugar in his tea/coffee and if you leave out that half he's not happy!

Next time they go shopping Theresa did say she wanted me to go with them, I'm going to try teach her to read a food label and what to watch out for/look for. It will really be her that's buying/cooking the food my father mainly just eats it.

I may start making two lists so, he'll be delighted when I tell him to eat real butter instead of the frankenstein butter.